From 2000 to 2005 the world lost over a million square kilometers of forest. Forests continue to decline worldwide, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). Employing satellite imagery researchers found that over a million square kilometers of forest were lost around the world between 2000 and 2005. This represents a 3.1 percent loss of total forest as estimated from 2000. Yet the study reveals some surprises: including the fact that from 2000 to 2005 both the United States and Canada had higher percentages of forest loss than even Brazil.

Counting forest loss due either to human disturbance or natural causes, the study found that North America lost the most forest of the world’s six forest-containing continents. Perhaps surprisingly, thirty percent of total forest loss occurred in North America alone. Combined with South America—the largest extent of tropical forests in the world—the two continents represent half of the world’s total forest loss. Africa, in turn, suffered the least forest loss.

Forest loss by nation

Global forest cover loss by biome, 2000-2005. Chart by Rhett A. Butler / mongabay.com. Click to enlarge. Of the seven nations that contain over a million square kilometers of forest—Russia, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Indonesia, China, and the Democratic Republic of Congo—Brazil lost the most total forest during the five year time period.

According to the researchers Brazil lost 26,000 square kilometers (10,038 square miles) per year of its rainforest, and 7,000 square kilometers (2,702 square miles) in its dry tropical forests. Over the five years, total forest loss in Brazil came to 165,000 square kilometers (63,706 square miles). In all this represents 3.6 percent of its total 2000 forest cover: half a percent higher than the global average.

Canada was close behind Brazil: losing some 160,000 square kilometers (61,776 square miles) of its forest cover. However, proportionally Canada’s forest loss equals 5.2 percent of the nation’s total forest cover: higher than Brazil’s percentage and over two points higher than the global average.

But the United States had the greatest percentage loss of the seven nations—even more than Brazil and Canada—losing 6 percent of its forest cover in just five years time, a total of 120,000 square kilometers (46,332 square miles). While fire and beetle infestation played a role in Alaska and the western US, large-scale logging in the southeast, along the western coast, and in the Midwest play a big role in the nation’s continuing forest decline.

The researchers write that “the often publicized phenomenon of forest conversion within the humid tropics is observed in our results, but significant GFCL [i.e. global forest cover loss] is evident in all biomes. For example, rates of GFCL in regions such as the southeast United States are among the highest globally.”

Indonesia lost 3.6 percent of its forest cover during the five years, Russia 2.8 percent, China 2.3 percent, while the Democratic Republic of Congo lost the smallest percentage: 0.6 percent.

The study also highlights other nations with significant forest decline including Malaysia due to palm oil plantations, Paraguay and Argentina to agriculture, and Australia to fires.

Forest loss by ecosystem

Logging in Alaska. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Comparing the world’s four major forest ecosystems, the study found that the boreal experienced the largest loss in the five years, tropical rainforests came in second, dry tropical forest were third, and finally temperate forests

In the boreal 60 percent of the loss was due to fires, while the remaining 40 percent was caused by logging, disease, and infestations of pine beetles linked to climate change.

This report investigates the award of the EU Ecolabel to two photocopy brands, Golden Plus and Lucky Boss, manufactured by the Indonesian company Pindo Deli, part of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one of the world’s most controversial pulp and paper companies.

The report concludes that the EU Ecolabel criteria for sustainable forest management for copy & graphic paper and the revised version (latest draft from December 2009) are very weak and not adequate to ensure that the most egregious forest operations are excluded. In addition, the EU Ecolabel award process is non-transparent and the EU Ecolabel should be withdrawn for Pindo Deli’s brands of photocopy paper. You can download the full white sheet here:http://ow.ly/1BPAR

“Pelagic Plastics

Plastic in the ocean may be one of the most alarming of today’s environmental stories. Instead, plastic goes through a process called photodegredation, where sunlight breaks down plastic into smaller and smaller pieces until there is only plastic dust. But always plastic remains a polymer. When plastic debris meets the sea it can remain for centuries causing untold havoc in ecosystems.”

Vinyl stickers are made from polymers/petroleum oil and take hundreds if not thousands of years to break down and degrade. Once they degrade, those microscopic polymers enter the food stream where animals, fish and birds inadvertently (i.e, ocean plankton) eat them – wreaking havoc either with their DNA or killing them since the polymers are undigestible.

Made from Plants and compostable

Vinyl stickers are made from polymers/petroleum oil and take hundreds if not thousands of years to break down and degrade. Once they degrade, those microscopic polymers enter the food stream where animals, fish and birds inadvertently (i.e, ocean plankton) eat them – wreaking havoc either with their DNA or killing them since the polymers are undigestible.

Yes, no doubt, vinyl lasts much longer than normal stickers, especially if they are screen printing, but, SO WHAT – is a slightly longer lasting sticker worth the long-term damage our children and their children and children’s children will be forced to deal with.

Commercial ‘Green’ Printing

Today, companies, cities and non-profits see the benefit in green printing: From meeting packaging laws on compostability and recycling, to the obvious branding opportunities. From USA Pavilion World Expo 2015 to World Centric, companies, colleges and cities buy and prefer ‘green’ when given a choice.

Today, the choices of ‘green’ stocks, methods of ‘green’ printing, ‘green’ certification bodies require an education in itself: Biopolymers, tree-free, stone, cellulose.
Now, large and small, Religious, Environmental, Animal and Scientific Groups/Organizations/Faiths are concerned and advocating for sustainability and against water pollution, plastics/degradation of plastic and it’s affect on animals and humans. Your Company's Printing is a necessity, but where is the stock printed on coming from? China, Taiwan, Canada, Indonesia or the U.S. of A? If the paper is coming from Indonesia or Canada, for instance, it's quite probably contributing to deforestation which, in turn, is contributing to the extinction of the native species, i.e., orangutan, tiger population.

Deforestation, extinction, this list goes on and on and out to an increasingly well-informed public. Clients and customers are demanding to know how the Companies products are printed and packaged. Are the inks petroleum or vegetable-based? Are your inks low V.O.C. (volatile organic compounds)? Is your paper and packaging FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), SFI (Sustainably Forestry Initiative) or BEP (Best Environmental Practices) Certified? Was it Made Carbon Neutral? Are your labels compostable?!!!

Since 2003 Plan It Green Printing has been helping companies green their print practices.